Gemma Collins is having night terrors over her Dancing On Ice feud with Jason Gardiner, boyfriend Arg reveals
WITH tears, tantrums and triple axels (well, almost), Gemma Collins is already Dancing On Ice’s most controversial contestant.
The show has only just started but already the 37-year-old has been mocked, fat-shamed, labelled a diva and embroiled in a legal row.
Professionally she may be skating on thin ice, but personally she is rock-solid thanks to her stalwart boyfriend James “Arg” Argent.
In a passionate defence of his fearless Towie girlfriend, today Arg hits back at her critics — but admits the show has put enormous strain on the couple’s on/off five-year relationship.
He tells The Sun on Sunday: “Gemma has absolutely stolen the show and I’m not just being biased. But I’m not going to lie — it has impacted on our relationship because I’ve been too emotionally involved.
“The show has put her under a lot of pressure and stress, and she’s been trying so hard. All eyes have been on her and although I knew the show was going to be a challenge for us, that it would be tough, I didn’t expect it to be this tough.
“When you’re exhausted, when you’re tired, angry and upset, that’s when you take it out on the people closest to you. Of course I understand that and remain fully supportive.
“There was one particular week which was so, so tough for us as a couple. If we can survive that, I honestly believe we can survive anything. I love her so much and I won’t allow this show to break us up.”
That “particular week” was last Sunday when Gemma and judge Jason Gardiner had a heated exchange. The outspoken Aussie choreographer claimed her routine “lacked elegance” and made a jibe about her weight, suggesting she would never be held aloft by her pro partner Matt Evers.
After she skated to Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend — scoring just 13 points from the judges in the process — Jason said: “You were channelling Marilyn [Monroe] but we ended up with Anna Nicole Smith.”
Feisty Gemma hit back, falsely accusing the 47-year-old of “selling stories” after he gave an interview to The Sun in which he claimed she was “lazy”. The furious exchange was eventually broken-up by presenter Phillip Schofield but received more than 80 complaints from viewers to TV regulator Ofcom.
The bust-up came after This Morning presenter Phillip and co-host Holly Willoughby, 37, had both made jibes on their daytime show.
Phillip accused Gemma of sleeping on the job, keeping cast and crew waiting, while Holly questioned her professionalism. And earlier this week it was revealed Jason was considering legal action against the wannabe skater.
The whole sorry affair has left Gemma reeling, says Arg, so much so that she has been waking up with night terrors. He adds: “Gemma was so upset after Jason made his comments. The whole thing hit her so hard.
“She’s been waking up in the middle of the night having nightmares. I remember one particularly bad one when she woke up and was grabbing my arm, she was really panicking.
But obviously I can’t control what she says or does and I accept her for who she is. Gemma isn’t going to change for anyone. She’s an absolute grafter, and always has been, so no, she’s not lazy, and she was hurt and upset because Jason hasn’t given her a fair chance.
He’d heard things about her and jumped on the bandwagon after meeting her only once. He body-shamed her, made sly digs about her weight and compared her to a dead person. That’s not nice.
“As for Holly, there’s no problem there at all. Holly absolutely loves Gemma, and Gemma loves Holly. They get on really well. Me and Holly’s husband actually went to the same secondary school and were having a laugh in the week about how silly the whole row was.”
Bizarrely, Arg, 31, reckons Gemma and Jason will eventually become pals. Neither have apologised backstage but he is hopeful Jason will not go ahead with any legal action.
Reluctant to be drawn on the issue, Arg will only say: “I may be crazy but I actually think they will become friends. Gemma will turn Jason from a hater to a fan.
"They’ve not spoken since but I know Gemma and she’s not a bad person. This row is nothing that can’t be sorted out. There’s method to her madness and I don’t want to sound cringey but can you name a bigger star in the UK at the moment? Because I can’t. It’s Gemma.”
The Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton of Essex, Gemma and Arg have had their ups and downs over the years. They first got together in 2012 after Arg split from Lydia Bright but clashed on Towie when Gemma heard that Arg had criticised her size-18 curves.
Wearing a black swimsuit, she marched over to him in Marbella, slapped her backside and said: “Well, let me tell you something now. You don’t ever disrespect a girl like that again. Take a good look at this, you ain’t ever gonna get this candy!”
It went on to become one of the programme’s most watched clips of all time. Arg and Lydia later reconciled, while Gemma got engaged to businessman Rami Hawash.
But the star-crossed lovers, who were offered their own spin-off reality series, could not stay apart for long. Last year, they reunited — but not before another quick split in July.
Since getting back together again, they have since declared one another “The One” and hope to marry one day, although Arg says all proposal plans “have gone out of the window to let Gemma focus on Dancing On Ice”.
So focused is Gemma that she recently moved out of the couple’s Essex home to be in a hotel closer to the rink. Happily, Arg says the move has not hampered their sex life. He laughs and says: “Nothing could ever stop our love life.
“Gemma’s been coming back black and blue, covered in bruises and swellings, and absolutely knackered — but that spark between us is as strong as ever.
"Ever since me and Gemma first got together, ever since we had our first kiss and cuddle, that spark has always been there. So no matter how tired she’s been, that side of our relationship hasn’t been affected — it’s as great as ever.”
Since training for the ITV series, Gemma has lost more than 2st and dazzled on the red carpet of the NTA awards this week.
Her weight loss has inspired singer Arg — whose weight has yo-yoed following stints in rehab for stress — to shift a few pounds ahead of his forthcoming tour of Spain where, he says, he is like the “David Hasselhoff of Germany — a superstar”.
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Until then, Arg is busy overseeing Gemma’s time on the skating show — which tonight will be without former England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom, who picked up a muscle strain in training and gets a pass to next weekend’s show.
Arg says: “Sometimes I do get a bit too wrapped up in it. Unfortunately Gemma calls me ‘Michael Jackson’s dad’ because apparently I’m always on at her, and really strict. Except obviously I don’t beat her.
“But she always likes my advice except when it comes to hair, make-up and outfits. Gemma’s improving all the time. I honestly think she might go all the way and win the show. I couldn’t be more proud.”
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